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An Excerpt From Tim D's Killed Book

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Ben_Hecht, Oct 29, 2009.

  1. Small Town Guy

    Small Town Guy Well-Known Member

    I also like the idea that the league was sending tapes of Raja Bell, the implication being to watch him more closely and to call fouls on him against superstars like, oh, Kobe.

    If the the league actually had a desire to influence the game, why not just tell the refs? Why just send tapes and hope they figure it out on their own? Donaghy's evidence is that other refs always got instructions from the league...but not Donaghy. So a guy who's a ref for more than 10 years never actually gets these nefarious messages, but hears about them? Instead he's just sent tapes and his interpretation of that is the league wants him to do something illegal. Ok.

    Not to mention...why wouldn't the league send tapes if they think a player is doing something that should be called? If Raja Bell was elbowing, or Bruce Bowen was undercutting, and it wasn't being called, is it now a fixed league if officials are told to watch for those and call it? Same thing with the Yao stuff that Donaghy had a few years ago. If NFL officials are told to watch for illegal contact on receivers - and are sent tapes - is the league now rigged?

    Individual refs having beefs against individual players is a legitimate, major concern. But that's not a fixed league. Dick Bavetta liking publicity is not a fixed league (was MLB rigged when Ron Luciano was an ump and was writing books, and knew he was going to throw Earl Weaver out before the game even started?).

    These are all the same types of things he reportedly told investigators two years ago.
     
  2. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    True. Yes, Donaghy is a criminal. Yes, he has an agenda. But that doesn't mean a lot, if not all of what he said is true.

    The same thing happened with Canseco's book. People called him every name in the book and I think the bulk of his accusations have been proven to be true.

    It blows my mind how many people immediately dismiss Donaghy's claims because he was betting on games.

    There should be a thorough investigation, but there never will be because people are either in bed with the NBA (ESPN and to a lesser extent SI) or they're afraid of David Stern.
     
  3. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    I've said this numerous times before, but this should be the biggest sports scandal since the Black Sox. But, it's been largely ignored to this point and it seems silly to think this book or excerpts are going to change that.
     
  4. Small Town Guy

    Small Town Guy Well-Known Member

    And it's been ignored because...everyone's such huge fans of the NBA? Because the NBA only ever gets good press and is a beloved league throughout the country? We're talking about the same NBA?

    And ignored means what? Federal investigators have investigated his claims (but they must be in bed with evil Stern). Major papers have written about it. Magazines. Web site after web site. Could it be that Donaghy's claims aren't everything he builds them up to be?

    I'm not thoroughly dismissing his claims because he's a criminal, although that's certainly a part of it (and even if some people use that to completely ignore him, which I think would be wrong, how would that be any more ridiculous than thinking he's telling the truth just because...Jose Canseco wrote a book that made claims that turned out to be true? One has nothing to do with the other).

    I'm saying a lot of what he says has been interpreted by him to be this nefarious thing (the Bell stuff, Game 7 in 2000, Game 6 in 2002), when it's quite possible it's innocuous. Again, he was a ref for 13 years, but somehow he never received these secret messages that other, unnamed refs received, which explicitly stated how games should be called.

    As I said, the individual beefs between refs and players is a serious thing, but that stuff happens in every sport at every level. It's going to be tough to fix. But there's a difference between bad reffing and a leaguewide conspiracy.
     
  5. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    Right now it's the fifth item on the NBA page and nowhere to be seen on the main page.

    The only reason it made the main page at all is because Stern commented on it.
     
  6. slytiger

    slytiger Member

    Iverson's teams are 5-12 ATS (Against the Spread) in games refereed by Steve Javie. Betting against Iverson in Javie games would have made someone a lot of money.
     
  7. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    In no sport does the ref play a bigger role than in the NBA. You put one player in foul trouble early and you can change the outcome of a game so fast it's not even funny. It doesn't help that the line between what is allowed and what isn't is such a thin one.
     
  8. imjustagirl

    imjustagirl Active Member

    24-hour sites don't generally leave a story on P1 without advancing it for 27 hours. Especially with only 10 slots. But thanks.
     
  9. Smasher_Sloan

    Smasher_Sloan Active Member

    I'm thinking that's because he was totally dishonest and absent any integrity or morals when he was betting games.

    But now he's changed?
     
  10. Simon_Cowbell

    Simon_Cowbell Active Member

    No accident the Mavericks took it to the Lakers last night.
     
  11. Huggy

    Huggy Well-Known Member

    As my old man, a degenerate gambler if there ever was one would say, "Who cares it it's fixed? There's gotta be a winner."
     
  12. swenk

    swenk Member

    Donaghy's book to be published after all, some outlets will have it by Friday:

    http://www.philly.com/dailynews/sports/20091202_Donaghy_ready_for_rollout_of_new_tell-all.html
     
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